The price of meat experienced an increase of 3.1% month-on-month in September, marking a slowdown after the significant rise in the first part of the year. However, despite this downward trend in price increases, meat consumption continues at minimal levels, the lowest in the last 26 years, according to a report from the Argentine Republic’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Meats and Derived Products (CICCRA).
The report highlights that the "meat and derivatives" sector was one of the largest contributors to the monthly increase in the non-alcoholic food and beverages chapter, with a monthly rise of 3.1%. This increase was not due to the prices of the main beef cuts surveyed, which rose only 1.0%, but to significant increases in the prices of whole chicken (5.2%) and frozen hamburger boxes (7.5%).
The increase in meat prices in September was below the official Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month, which reached 3.5%, and the August record from the entity reflecting a 4.1% rise in prices. Regarding the year-on-year variation, there is a slowdown in the average price increase of surveyed beef cuts, reaching 152.1% in the ninth month of the year, compared to 354.2% recorded in January.
According to the report, beef cuts showed monthly increases in September, with notable rises in asado (1.7%), cuadril (1.3%), nalga (1.2%), common ground meat (0.4%), and shoulder (0.4%). In terms of year-on-year comparison, a slowdown in the price increases of beef cuts is observed, with increases ranging between 145.5% and 160.8%. The price of frozen hamburger boxes and whole chicken also showed significant year-on-year increases.
Despite the slowdown in price increases, domestic consumption of beef continues to decline, being 11.3% lower than the total recorded in the same period of the previous year. In absolute terms, a drop of 209.8 thousand tons carcass weight (tn r/c/h) is estimated, the lowest in the last twenty-six years, as detailed by the CICCRA in its report.
In the first nine months of 2024, beef production in Argentina decreased by 6.4% compared to the previous year, reaching 2.336 million tn r/c/h produced. In contrast, beef exports increased by 7.8% in the same period, representing a sale of 689.8 thousand tn r/c/h abroad, which means an absolute increase of 50.0 thousand tn r/c/h.
